Thai Esaan-style Sausage, "Sai Grok"

Bring this unique, fragrant, Thai-style sausage to your next barbeque party, and rest assured nobody will have the same thing. We used high quality ground pork from a local butcher who used pork shoulder, and we suggest you do the same but it's not necessary. This is a rich, tasty meal in itself because of the mix of meat and rice, and one you can find all over Thailand especially in the Northeast (Isaan) area. See pictures of a Bangkok street vendor offering the same sausage.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup cooked sticky rice
1.5 tablespoon fresh garlic, pulverized in a mortar and pestle
1.5 tablespoon pickled garlic, pulverized in a mortar and pestle
1/2 tablespoon Thai pepper powder (do not substitute)
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon Golden Mountain Sauce
1/2 teaspoon corriander seed powder

Method

Put the pork and all other ingredients in a food processor and thoroughly mix. With clean hands, separate the meat into 3 or 4 sections, and wrap each section carefully and tightly with plastic wrap. Follow that with some tin foil for added protection. Set the sausage out at room temperature (not in the fridge) for 1-2 days. Remove from plastic wrap and foil.

Barbeque the sausage over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes or longer. Note the fragrant aroma, and make sure it's well-cooked. You can fry in oil if barbeque is not available.

Serve with fresh chile peppers, garlic, pickled ginger, spring onion, cilantro, leaf lettuce, cabbage and other greens you may like.